Furniture construction



S. N. SWAR'I'Z FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION June 2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1946 NTOR.

SAUL N. SWARTZ ATTORNEY FIG.4

Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED STATE 7*.

OFFICE 5 Claims.

The present invent-ion relates to an rticle of furniture commonly known as a studio couch which serves 70th for sleeping purposes and for lounging and is often used in small apartments where a living room must also be used as a bedroom. I

In the present invention the so-called studio couch provides a piece of furniture in which one or more cot sections may be stored and concealed so that there is practically no evidence of its character and, further, the stored pieces may readily removed and set up for use. Two single bed sections may be stored in the studio couch without raising the couch above the nor mal standard for such articles above the floor.

The stored sections of the. couch of the present invention may be contained within the bottom of the studio couch but not supported by it, resting freely on the floor on casters and being drawn out when a closing plate or board has been moved forward and raised. The stored sections of the couch may be retained one in the other but may be removed together or singly, depending on how many sections need to be used for sleeping purposes. Space is also provided for bedding beneath the couch so that the structure is highly economical as regards space and also as regards cost since there are few moving parts or mechanisms to operate, to use the article in any form.

Without further describing the advantages and features of the present invention, the in vention will be described in connection with the drawings illustrating an embodiment of the same in which:

Figure 1 shows the invention in perspective with sections broken away illustrating detail elements.

Figure 2 shows one elementof the assembly oi Figur Figure 3 shows a-further element contained within the structure of Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a sectional view taken on the line 4-=A of Figure 3 and Figure 5 shows a plan view looking from the top down on the supporting structure with the sofa cushions removed.

In the drawings the couch comprises preferably a wooden base or frame I with an upholstered top or cover 2 and serves as a lounge in the ordinary manner. The cover 2 may be made in sections or the top of the couch may be covered or upholstered uniformly all over, over which sectional seats, cushions or pillows are placed. Back pillows or cushions 3 are also used which may be set against the wall if the til ' with their appurtenances.

couch is used in that position or the couch may have a back support against which the cushions rest. These elements are generally in use and form no s ecial part of the present invention.

The frame I comprises a back board and side boards 5 with suitable legs or supports 6. '5, etc. at the corners. Cross supports 1, 1, are secured to the back board and front support 8 and in turn these cross supports support both the top cushions which form the seat of the sofa and the slide mechanism by means of which the front door is moved forward. They further provide added strength for the frame. At the front of the couch across the top from leg to leg is a joist orsupport if: completing the top of the frame on which the edge of the cushion 2 rests. The cushion or cover it also extends downward into the frame andthe bottom of it may rest on the cross supports l. The cushion 2 is made as an individual unit with a frame til preferably of wood at its base which rests on the top of the frame 1 and may be readily removed.

Within the space from the cross supports 1 to the .floor, the other bed frames are contained The bed H) is contained within the space under the cushion 2. This bed comprises a spring II suspended from a frame l2 preferably of metal which in turn S supported at the ends by downwardly extending L-shaped brackets it in which the lower portions it of the l... extend inwardly toward each other. At the ends of the L-shaped brackets are downwardly extending flanges H5 in which castors ii: are supported. At each end of the bed iii, a bar ii is provided with two ends bent at an angle over the flanges 15 to which they are pivoted in such a way that the bars I! may be swung downward and serve as supports for the bed. A projecting strip or element It may limit the movement of the bar to prevent it from swinging outward, if that is desired. The bars ll when down should preferably raise the surface of the bed or the mattress it to that of the couch cushions.

Within the space defined in part by elements is and the spring, a further cot frame 20 may be stored. This cot frame folds by means of the jointed links H and the pivoted legs 22 in such a manner that the legs fold up under the long span supports 23.

Rigidity against lateral sway is obtained. by means of the cross pieec 2d at either end which comes in contact with the bottom edge of the adjacent L beam across the ends of the frame 28 and prevents motion in a line parallel to the line of axis of the pivots 26 of the legs. The

cot frame 20 may be folded up and slid in the compartment formed above the elements It and this space may also hold covers and a mattress if desired. The assembly of the beds or cots I and may be pulled out as one unit. Above the unit H3 is sufiicient room to store blankets and pillows for both cots l0 and Zli.

The front of the couch is covered by means of a hinged and forwardly movable door 39 which is carried by hinges 3!, the back half of each of which is supported on a horizontally movable rod or bar 32, 32 and 33, the latter being the central rod by means of which the door is forced forward from the side of the couch by operation of the handle 35 which extends from a horizontal extending slot 36 in one of the boards 5. The rod 33 moves-or slides in a bearing 31 and is connected by a pivoted link 28 to the long bar 39 at one end of which is the operating handle 35. The bar 39 is supported in a plurality of wide supports 40 which are secured to the cross boards I and which because of their width gives the bar freedom for lateral motion. The end of the bar 39 opposite the operating handle 35 terminates in a connecting member M to which one end of link 42 is fastened and, the other end of which is anchored in the back wall 4. The bearing brackets 31' which support rods 32 and 33 are secured to the bottom of the cross bars 1 in the positions as indicated in Figure 5. The links 28 and 42 are freely pivoted so that when the bar 39 is pulled forward and swings slightly laterally, the links 4-2 and 2t align themselves with the bar 33 and push forward the door 30. The rods 32 simply slide forward with this motion in their bearings. When the door has been pushed forward it may be swung upward and the cots removed from within the compartment under the couch.

In Figure 5 there is shown a full line position The beds or cots may be used together, singly or with the couch itself. Sufficient space is provided above the bed or cot H) to store the necessary blankets and pillows to be used for both beds.

I claim:

1. In combination with a couch a plurality of cot beds adapted to be stored beneath the same comprising one cot bed having supporting L- shaped beams at its ends sustaining the spring of the bed with the bases of the Us extending inwardly of the bed toward one another, a U- shaped bracket having the sides of the U pivoted at the sides of said cot near the ends and adapted to be swung down to form supporting legs for said cot, said L-shaped beams forming a supporting shelf, a second cot having inwardly foldable end legs and adapted when folded to be stored in the shelf of the first cot bed.

2. In a couch having an upholstered top for sleeping purposes, providing a storage space heneath the top for storage of a cot bed, a structure comprising a door hingedly mounted at the front of the couch and covering the front opening between the leg supports and beneath the top of the couch to the floor, a plurality of hinges each having a half mounted on the inside of the door at the top edge thereof, means supporting the other halves of the hinges for movement normal to the plane of the door when it is in its normal up and down position whereby the door may be moved forward from its normal position and swung upwards on its hinges to open the same.

3. In a couch having an upholstered top for sleeping purposes, providing a storage space beneath the top for storage of a cot bed, a structure comprising a door hingedly mounted at the front of the couch and covering the front opening between the leg supports and beneath the top of the couch to the floor, a plurality of hinges each having a half mounted on the inside of the door at the top edge thereof, means supporting the other halves of the hinges for movement normal to the plane of the door comprising a plurality of parallelly positioned rods to which said other halves of the hinges are attached at one end, means supporting said rods for concomitant axial movement thereof and means operatively attached to one of said rods for advancing said door in a direction perpendicular to its normal position away from said front opening whereby the door may be swung upward on its hinges to open the same.

a. In a couch having an upholstered top for sleeping purposes, providing a storage space he'- neath the top for storage of a cot bed, a structure comprising a door hingedly mounted at the front of the couch and covering the front opening between the leg supports and beneath the top of the couch to the floor, a plurality of hinges each having a half mounted on the inside of the door at the top edge thereof, means supporting the other halves of the hinges for movement normal to the plane of the door comprising a plurality of parallelly positioned bars to which said other halves of the hinges are attached at one end, means supporting said bars for coaxial movement thereof and means operatively attached to one of said bars comprising three connected link members having one end connected to said bar and the other end fixed to said couch with the middle link member having a long rod extending through one end of the couch and means supporting said link rod for substantial coaxial motion to advance the hinge perpendicular to the normal position of the door whereby the door may be moved forward and swung up- Ward on its hinges to open the same.

5. In combination with a couch having a supporting frame providing substantially elongated rectangular space beneath the same for the enclosure of a cot bed, a plurality of cot beds adapted to be stored beneath the same including one cot bed having supporting L shaped beams at its ends with the bases of the Us extending inwardly beneath the cot bed towards one another and forming a supporting shelf for a second cot bed, said first cot bed having floor engaging casters attached to the horizontal side of said L shaped bases and a U shaped brace pivoted at the ends of said L shaped beam with the bases of the U extending on the inside around the edge of the horizontal portion of the L shaped beams and pivoted to be extended below the horizontal portion of the L shaped beam for raising the cot when the cot has been withdrawn from beneath the couch whereby said cot may be raised to the level of said couch and said-second cot bed having inwardly foldable end legs of a' size to fit 5 within the supporting shelf formed by said L Number shaped beams. 1,401,796 SAUL N. SWARTZ. 1,521,975 2,146,864 References Cited in the file of this patent 5 2,200,052 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,355,343

Number Name Date 479,071 Holstein July 19, 1892 Number 987,064 Grotenhuis Mar. 14, 1911 10 765,615 1,167,439 Siebert et a1 Jan. 11, 1916 Name Date Konrad Dec. 27, 1921 Stickley Jan. 6, 1925 Staufier et a1 Feb. 14, 1939 Bowersox May 7, 1949 Stone Dec. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Mar. 26, 1934 

